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The History of the EU· Europe was originally created after WW2, as an attempt to rectify past wrongs, and prevent things like the World Wars from ever happening again. In the years between 1945 and 1950, various international politicians (including Winston Churchill, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide de Gasperi) were trying to influence their nations to cast aside their differences and ally together. On the 9th May 1950, Robert Schuman (the then French Foreign Minister) proposed establishing a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The materials once used to wage war between these countries would be pooled and controlled by one High Authority. This was the starting point of the EU we have today.…read more

Slide 3

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The Functions of the EU· No single European country is strong enough to cope alone in world economics. Although the primary goal of the EU is peace, it provides a valuable platform for all member states to engage in international economics with the support of the European International Bank (EIB) and of all the other member states. With a budget bigger than 120 billion, money is given to lesser-developed countries in order for them to catch up with the rest of the EU. Of course, equality can not be attained through aid alone. Legislations are passed by the EU requiring equality and fairness for anyone and everyone. This is achieved through non-obligatory directives, and mandatory treaties and regulations.…read more

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The Council of the European Union· This is the main decision-making body. The member states take it in turn to hold the Council Presidency for a sixth month period, the current President is Mirek Topolánek from the Czech Republic. The function of the Council is to meet and debate about current issues like, for instance, the Credit Crunch. It has legislative powers, shared with the European Parliament, which it uses to form directives, treaties and regulations. According to the treaties, the Council must reach a decision by simple majority vote, a `qualified majority' vote or unanimously, depending on the subject to be decided.· The Council has to agree unanimously on important questions such as amending the Treaties, launching a new common policy or allowing a new country to join the Union. In most other cases, qualified majority voting is used. This means that a Council decision is adopted if a specified minimum number of votes are cast in its favour. The number of votes allocated to each EU country roughly reflects the size of its population.…read more

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The European Parliament· This is the elected body that speaks for the citizens of Europe. It supervises EU activities and takes an active role in the legislative process. The members have been directly elected since 1979. The assent of the European Parliament is required for the inauguration of new member states, and the Treaty of Maastricht 1992 puts it on a level of equal importance with the Council. The President of the Council is also required to report to the Parliament on the decisions made by the Council. The Parliament also wields the power to dismiss the Commission by adopting a motion of censure. This requires a 2/3 majority.…read more

Slide 6

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The European Commission· The Commission forms the final part of the ruling triumvirate of the European Union. It consists of members appointed by the Member States for 5 year periods, subject to approval from the European Parliament. If the Parliament passes a motion of censure, every member of the Commission must resign. The function of the Commission is to uphold the common interest, meaning it will never take direction from one single body, country or person. It also monitors the Member States, ensuring that they are complying with EU law. If a State is found in breach of a law, the Commission can take the offending State to the European Court of Justice to force compliance.…read more